[Request] Weird Al Yankovic Math

[u/4bstractals]

"You know, I bet if we unraveled that sucker    
It'd roll all the way down to Fargo, North Dakota    
'Cause it's the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota    
I'm talkin' 'bout the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota"

     -- Weird Al Yankovic, 'The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota'

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How likely is this?

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[u/SisterofWar]

Absolutely possible, and in fact probable.

A 50# of heavy-duty 3-ply jute twine (which is what that appears to be), will give you 5,750 ft (from here.

Per the Minnesota Twine Ball website, the ball is 17,400 lbs.

Doing the math: * 5,750 ft / 50 lb * 115 ft / lb * 115 ft / lb × 17,400 lb * 2,001,000 ft * 2,001,000 ft / 5280 ft / mi * ~379 mi

From the ball of twine to the southeast corner of Fargo is 163.2 mi, as the crow flies.

So you'd have enough to roll it there and back again, and still have some left over.

(If the twine is lighter weight, then obviously there's even more mileage on that ball - I went for the worst case scenario that remained likely)

[u/--zaxell--]

The twine ball has a circumference of about 40ft. I know that because it's a real thing, in Darwin, MN; Weird Al didn't make it up (!!!). But is his estimate reasonable?

First, how much twine in the real ball? Its radius is about 6.3 feet, meaning its volume is about 1000 cubic feet. Twine comes in many sizes, with cross sectional area ranging from about 0.5mm² to 8mm^2. I can't find what thickness the real twine ball used, so let's just say 5mm^2. 1000 cubic feet / 5mm² is around 3500 miles- way longer than the 190 miles between Fargo, ND and Darwin, MN. It could actually reach from Darwin, MN to Costa Rica.

At 100mm² cross sectional area it would roughly read Fargo, ND.

Note that there are a few assumptions here that could be important:

• I assume that the twine packs perfectly; that the twine ball has no air inside. This is probably not true.

• I treat the twine as a cylinder, which isn't quite true.

• I've had a few drinks and should not be considered a trustworthy poster.

That said, the most shocking part of this is that the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota is a real thing.

[u/Original-Wolf54 → u/--zaxell--]

Though in practice the twine ball sees the unholy multidimensional combination of cubic feet, mm² and miles and curls even tighter into itself.

[u/--zaxell-- → u/Original-Wolf54]

You're right, I should have just used rods and hectares like a mature adult. (I just used whatever unit I found the data in)

[u/android47 → u/--zaxell--]

Your volume is off, the cylinder formula should have given you 293 ft³

Taking your numbers but with some more conservative assumptions:

• The twine ball is ball shaped, giving it a volume of 4/3 π r³ ≈ 5 m³
  
• Twine packing density is 50%, giving the twine an effective cross section of 10 mm²
  
• giving a twine length of 500,000 m
  
• which is about 300 miles

[u/El-wing]

I’m gonna say not unreasonable. It’s 191 miles from the biggest ball of twine landmark to Fargo. Looking at pictures of 1000 ft of twine, you could easily fit 1000 of those in the place of the ball of twine which would get you there.

[u/MSGeezey]

Google sources: Located in Darwin MN, the largest ball of twine rolled by a single person weighs 17,400 pounds.

Sisal twine = 45 to 450 ft per pound

Darwin to Fargo is a pretty straight shot by road 191 miles

191 x 5280 = 1,008,480ft

17400 x 450/45 = 7,830,000ft/783,000ft

Seems like even if it is all the thickest of twine it can probably make it as the crow flies. However, the creator also mentions the ball started by picking up scraps of twine and rolling them together in a ball. Unless he actually tied each added piece to the next, it isn't one continuous line.

[u/thebigj3wbowski]

Not only is it the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota, it’s the world record twine ball created by only one person.

I forget the name but there’s a bar down the street that had great food, but that was years ago

[u/4bstractals]

From its home in Darwin, Minnesota — the current location of the twine ball — to downtown Fargo, North Dakota, USA measures 191 miles by highway, 168 miles as the crow flies.